


Two Movie Tickets

by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Angst, Characters Watching The Little Mermaid (1989), Childhood Memories, M/M, Pretty Woman References, Savage is Gary's father, Vandal Savage's A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:47:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23781844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz/pseuds/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz
Summary: Gary recollects a childhood adventure to the movies on his own as the Legends hunt down the next piece of the Loom of Fate.
Relationships: John Constantine & Gary Green, John Constantine/Gary Green
Comments: 18
Kudos: 43





	Two Movie Tickets

**Author's Note:**

  * For [harleygirl2648](https://archiveofourown.org/users/harleygirl2648/gifts).



> I wrote and finished this minutes before Zari, Not Zari aired, so nothing that happened in that episode (including the THING) happened here.
> 
> Also, shout to the every fabulous harleygirl2648 for egging me on to write another Vandad Savage piece. I have just gotten so sucked into the theory and I am trying to work out a sequel to Please Don't Come Back. These two fics aren't connected, at least not at the moment.
> 
> Anyways, I own nothing except my laptop so I hope you all enjoy this, get some feels, and are holding up after what...happened.

Gary sat in the bridge, tapping his fingers on his knees. The Legends had been gone for half an hour at this point on thier latest mission. As soon as he recognized the town they were and the date, Gary had volunteered to stay on the ship. It raised a few eyebrows with the Legends, but they didn’t argue against it. Thankfully, they didn’t ask why either.

He pulled out his wallet, thumbing through a few stubs and cards before he found what he was looking for. A movie ticket for _Pretty Woman_ dated for March 27, 1990. The same day they’d landed the Waverider here.

* * *

_March 27, 1990_

_Gary thanked the bus driver as he was getting off the bus in front of the movie theater. He still couldn’t believe he was doing this today. His father would be furious if he found out he was cutting school to go see the movies. He might even pull him out of school and put him back into personal tutoring. But to do something that was normal that other kids did was so tempting for Gary. He could never get away with this on a weekend or after school, so during had to be the time for it._

_It had taken a week to plan this out perfectly. Lie to the secretary and teacher that his dad was taking him to a doctor’s appointment and he’d be out for the rest of the day, catch a bus to the theater, watch a movie, and then catch another bus to arrive back at school before dismissal. His father would be none the wiser. Gary would finally have something that he could talk about with someone else. Everyone won._

_When he walked inside, there were only a few people milling about since it was around midday. Most of them were women, but a few men were milling about too. His father had been teaching him about body language, and could tell some of the people were waiting for someone. Gary watched them as he made his way over to get his tickets and they didn’t seem to be paying him any mind or attention. Good._

_At the ticket counter, Gary recognized Betty Morgan’s older brother standing behind it. He’d heard Betty telling her friends before class that he was back in town for spring break and he’d get them tickets to see something. Gary had also seen him before picking his sister up after school._

_“One ticket to see Pretty Woman,” he asked quietly, pulling out the cash that he’d been saving up secretly at school.  
_

_Betty’s brother glanced at him. The name tag he wore said his name was Paul. “Shouldn’t you be in school, kid?”_

_This wasn’t supposed to be part of the plan. “Uh, I had to leave early. Doctor’s appointment.”  
_

_“And you want to see Pretty Woman?”  
_

_Gary nodded. He had seen the posters on the drive home from school and the teachers at school had been talking all about it. It made him curious._

_“Well, I don’t say I blame you,” Paul laughed. “Julia Roberts is pretty hot. But you’re gonna have a hard time getting into that movie.”  
_

_Gary’s shoulders slumped._

_“But, since you are skipping school to see this movie, let me help you out. You ever seen the Little Mermaid? We had a botched shipment on one of our movies and we’re running that instead. You can see it right after Pretty Woman if you want to. I can give you two tickets for two movies, then just show the Little Mermaid to Bernie over there if he asks what you’re seeing. And I’ll charge you for just one movie too, okay?”_

_“Why?”  
_

_Paul shrugged. “Just being nice. If you’re gonna skip school, do it right. See two movies, not one. You have the time before school gets out. Don’t waste it.”_

_Gary handed him the money and took the two tickets. He walked over to buy a carton of popcorn, almost bumping into a tall man when he turned around with a box of candy. After he got his popcorn, he decided to grab a few napkins, except the container was pushed too far back for him to reach. Gary reached as far as he could before a blonde lady at the counter push them towards him._

_“Thanks,” he told her, grabbing a few before making his way to the theater._

_“No problem, kid.”_

_Thankfully, the guy who had asked to see his ticket got distracted by one of the men in the lobby knocking over the huge pot a plant was in. Gary_ _ran all the way to the theater, nearly tripping only once on his way. When he got in, he found a spot near the the exit out of habit. Munching on his popcorn once, Gary sat through his first movie and covered his eyes only a few times when he got really nervous. But he loved every minute of it and wished he could see it again once it was over._

_He wondered if he would ever have someone rescue him._

_After the movie ended, he had time to go see the Little Mermaid. Just enough that he could make it back to school if he ran really fast after getting off the bus. So Gary slipped down the hall towards the other theater, glancing at the lobby as he went. There were some more people now, those getting out of other shows. He also saw some of the same people he had seen earlier. Funny._

_The Little Mermaid was a lot of fun. Gary liked the music and he liked Ariel too. She seemed a lot braver than he was. Her dad was kinda mean but he did love her and worry about her. Gary wasn’t sure his father would feel that way about him if he went missing._

_He was leaning forward on the edge of his seat as Ariel went to go interrupt the wedding when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. Gary didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was. Still, when he did, it didn’t prepare him for the fury on his father’s face._

_“We’re leaving,” Vandal Savage sneered at him. “Now, Gareth.”  
_

_Gary bolted to his feet as his father led him out of the theater. He tried his best not to cry as his father moved to walk by his side, hand still on his shoulder. It would be worse if Father saw him crying. He was already in enough trouble now, and he knew it would get worse over the weekend._

_“I’m sorry, Father,” he apologized as they entered the lobby.  
_

_“I don’t want your excuses, Gareth! I’m- hey!”  
_

_Someone crashed into his father and stumbled into him too. His father snarled an insult at the man as he dragged Gary out and away from the theater. In the suddenness, his Little Mermaid ticket dropped to the floor. He watched it flutter to the floor, then looked up to see the man he’d run into earlier and the woman who gave him the napkins staring at him. They were looking at him with...pity. That’s what it was, pity._

_The whole ride home, his father was silent. The yelling started when they got home. He was going to be pulled out of public school and go back to tutoring. There would be more training on the weekend. He would never go to see another movie ever again._

_Gary spent the rest of the week crying. He cried as he went in to clean out his cubby and desk. He cried while practicing his archery and while he was reading about militaty tactics in the library. He cried as he ate supper alone. He cried when he read the local paper and found out Paul Morgan had been killed in a hit and run accident two days after he’d given Gary the tickets. And he cried himself to sleep every night, wishing someone would come and rescue him._

* * *

“Gary.”

Gary turned around from the spellbook he was reading to see John standing in the doorway. The Legends had been back for a while, having acquired the next piece of the Loom. There was just one more to find and then they would all be set to help out Astra. Everything would work out.

“So where did you get the Loom piece?” he asked. “I kinda...zoned out during the briefing.”

“Off an immortal maniac in a movie theater. One who was dragging his runaway son out.”

Gary felt his breath catch. Now that he thought back to that day...Ava, Behrad, John....they’d all been there just now. They had all seen him. Did they know? Did they make the connection?

“Oh?” came out a little high-pitched.

“Yeah,” John held out a ticket stub. “I think you dropped this while I got the Loom piece from your father.”

Gary took the ticket and looked down at it. It was the Little Mermaid ticket, the movie that had been playing to cover for a mistake. He swallowed and looked back up at John. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Gary, it’s okay. We heard him call you Gareth and there were similarities we couldn’t ignore. But you cut school to go see a movie,” John grinned. “Thought you were a goody two-shoes, but you had a rebellious side.”

He felt his cheeks redden. “It was the one time.”

“Still, you were in there a while. The Little Mermaid wasn’t that long, was it?”

“I actually went to see Pretty Woman before that.”

“Is that what started you on being a Julia Roberts fan?”

He nodded. “I heard some teachers at my school talking about it and I was curious. Still have the stub from it.”

“Well, now you’ve got the other,” John patted his shoulder. “We didn’t, uh, know your father was...”

“Vandal Savage? Hath-Set?” Gary finished. “There’s a reason I don’t talk about my past. It’s why I stayed on the ship while you went out there. A few years after that day, I ended up running away. He never came after me.”

John nodded along with his words.

“Some days, I’m afraid he’ll turn back up in my life again and just rip it apart.”

“At least he’s dead and no longer anyone’s problem,” John told him, passing his flask over. “Even if he did come back, everyone on this ship would have your back, especially me.”

“Really?” Gary asked.

John gave his hand a squeeze. “Promise. I’ll fight him myself if he touches a hair on your head.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ta-da!
> 
> If you're up to leave a kudos or a comment, that would be really awesome.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [It Felt Right](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23912278) by [kueroyalt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kueroyalt/pseuds/kueroyalt)




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